Always Here
by fizzmonkeys
Summary: [One Shot] Life and love after Voldemort are beyond compare...but sometimes other evil things can be forgotten. Will Harry and Ginny's life be the same?


She stood there, in a long black robe, with her hair soaking wet from the rain; thoughts constantly running through her mind. She paid no attention to whether there were people around her any longer. She didn't care.

Taking in a choked breath, she felt one tear fall onto her cheek. With that one tear, there were a thousand memories, a thousand moments of good times and bad, a thousand images burned in her mind, and one name connected them all.

_**2 Weeks Ago **_

"Harry! Stop it!" Ginny said between giggles, while struggling to escape the arms around her.

Harry had been tickling her relentlessly, making it quite hard for Ginny to breathe.

"Oh, no! You know that I can't just let you get away with dousing me with pumpkin juice! Come here, you," he continued as Ginny managed to barely slip out of his fingers.

Ginny ran from him, trying to put as much distance between them as she could. "Now, Mr. Potter, you behave yourself or we are going to have a problem," she said warningly.

"Tsk, tsk. Why so formal, _Mrs. Potter_?" Harry said mockingly as he edged towards Ginny. "And what kind of problem might we have? I see nothing wrong with what I'm doing."

He reached out, and instead of tickling her again, he pulled her into his arms, kissing her passionately and making her tense body go limp. Ginny loved the fact that every time Harry kissed her, it was full of such emotion, such … _overwhelming_ emotion.

Harry and Ginny had been married for almost one year. One glorious year. As a matter of fact, tomorrow was their one year anniversary and they were both looking forward to it, because they had been planning something special.

They would be taking a week of vacation from their jobs and going on a trip for some quality time together. Ginny was hoping for no interruptions, but she wasn't promised anything. Ever since Harry had become an Auror, a month after they were married, the Ministry had him working on almost every case that they thought might even be remotely dangerous.

Needless to say, Ginny was quite upset when Harry said that he would have to tell his boss where they were going on their trip. She just hoped that the Ministry wouldn't come running with some small case that another Auror was fully capable of handling. She made sure that Harry told them that they could only be interrupted if it was an emergency and no one else was qualified. That was an understanding that she wanted to be made crystal clear.

For now, Ginny was enjoying a carefree evening with her husband. She was in a bit of a silly mood, which she didn't get to experience very often. Now that they were both officially on vacation, she felt very relaxed; of course, that kiss had helped too.

Ginny whimpered as she felt Harry's lips pull away from hers.

"You keep kissing me like that and we might not be able to collect ourselves enough to go away for our little trip" Ginny said with a smile forming at the corner of her lips, as she slowly opened her eyes and looked up into his.

"Is that a promise?" Harry asked with a grin.

"Oh, no! We're not staying home after all the planning we've done. Besides, it's a nice, secluded little town and that cottage we've rented is too lovely to pass up" Ginny said shooting him an 'I-can't-believe-that-even-crossed-your-mind' look.

"No, no, of course not, because no matter where we go, I'll have you all to myself. Which means, I can do whatever I want with you, whenever I want to" He said smirking, as he swept Ginny up into his arms and walked back towards their bedroom.

Gently laying her down on the bed, Harry spoke with a fire behind his emerald eyes. "Now, if you don't mind _love_, I'd like to spend some beneficial snogging time with my dear wife."

"By all means- ah," Ginny stopped him by putting a finger on his lips before he reached hers. "But, we have to make sure that we get some packing done tonight."

"Gin, you worry too much. It'll get done."

_Whether it's tonight or in the morning before we leave_, Harry thought, as he leaned into Ginny, kissing her sweetly and passionately.

--------------------------

"For heaven's sake, Harry! You said we'd get the packing done last night before we went to bed." Ginny said, shoving her clothes into a trunk. "We were supposed to be there five minutes ago."

"Gin, really, calm down; it's ok. Just relax. This is supposed to be a holiday, remember?" Harry reached out and grabbed her shoulders trying to make her slow down.

Taking in a deep breath, Ginny said, "Fine. I'll calm down if you promise to stop taking your precious time and get a move on."

"Deal," Harry nodded, accepting her terms.

The two of them finished packing and were just about ready to leave, as Ginny placed a letter on the refrigerator for Ron and Hermione.

Harry and Ginny had only told everyone that they were going out of town, but they never mentioned where. She knew that the two of them would be by sometime soon to see after Hedwig and naturally, Ron would head straight for the refrigerator to get some food. So there was a good chance they would spot the note. It wasn't much anyway, but Ginny thought she'd leave it, in any case.

_Hermione & Ron,_

_Thanks so much for coming by to take care of Hedwig for us. Harry and I really appreciate it._

_Hedwig's food & snacks are in the bottom cabinet on the left._

_If you need anything **that is of great importance**, send Hedwig. She'll know where to find us._

_Thanks again! And we'll see you in a week._

_All Our Love,_

_**Ginny & Harry**_

"Ready to go?" said Harry, gathering as many bags as he could and levitating them into the air.

"Yep; just leaving a note for Ron and Hermione" Ginny came out of the kitchen, grabbing a few more bags and walked over to stand by Harry.

"Do you care to tell me why you need so many bags? It's just the two of us and we're only going to be gone for a week."

"I'm not even going to bother trying to explain that to you, because I'll waste valuable time and you still won't get it. Now, can we finally get out of here?" Ginny asked, more than ready to be gone.

Rolling his eyes at her, he said, "Right away, _ma'am_."

They took each other's hand and in an instant, they both Apparated to the charming cottage that they would be staying at for the next week.

----------------------------------

"Gin ...? Where are you?" said Harry, wandering around the place.

Ginny called back, "I'm in the kitchen Harry."

"What are you doing in here?"

"Just getting ready to make us dinner," she said, chopping a few vegetables.

Harry walked up behind her and wrapped his arms around her waist. He hungrily kissed her neck and she unconsciously moved her head, giving him more room. He continued on, occasionally nibbling her earlobe, until Ginny couldn't concentrate on what she was doing, and finally stopped.

She moaned wearily, almost giving in. "As much as I love this," she said, her breath catching as he reached a sensitive spot, "you'd…better…stop, if you want to eat any time soon."

"Oh…forget about eating. I have other things on my mind right now."

"Harry!"

He gave her an incredulous look, "What? I can't help myself. I mean, here we are celebrating our anniversary, about to spend a solid week of solitude together and all I can think about is how much I want to be with my beautiful wife, at this very moment."

Ginny put down the knife that she had just been using and slowly turned around to face Harry. She bit her lip and blushed at his straightforwardness. "Well…I guess dinner could wait a bit longer. I'm not really _that_ hungry, after all."

Harry raised his brow and with a smile forming at the corner of his lips, he winked at her. She felt butterflies in her stomach and laughed at herself. She was always amazed at how he could still make her feel like a school girl.

Ginny watched Harry as he took her delicately, by the hand, and led her upstairs, to the bedroom.

----------------------------

Harry turned over onto his side, propping his head up on one hand and wrapping his other arm around Ginny's small waist. He leaned down slightly, placing a tender kiss on her bare shoulder.

"I love you so much, Gin."

"I love you too, Harry," said Ginny, turning back to meet Harry's lips with another kiss. As she moved to lie on her back, she kept her eyes away from his as she spoke, "Harry...?"

"Hmm?" he muttered as he traced kisses all over her hand, working his way up her arm.

Ginny proceeded cautiously, "There's been something that's been running through my mind again. I've…I've been thinking about… having a baby." She let the last few words run out of her mouth.

Harry stopped and looked up at her, forcing her eyes to look into his. "You know that I want us to have a family more than anything, right?"

Ginny simply nodded.

"Then if you're ready, I'm ready."

"But Harry, you know that we've tried before and haven't had any luck," said Ginny, dropping her eyes in disappointment.

Harry nudged her chin up so that she would look at him again. "There is nothing wrong with you. Don't even let that thought go through your mind. There's nothing wrong with either of us, we're both young and healthy and we have all the time in the world ahead of us.

"Maybe it's just that we've both been so busy that we were too distracted to really focus on having a baby."

Harry brushed back Ginny's hair from her face. There was nothing more he adored than spending time with his wife. Granted, he'd miss spending time with her, once a baby was in the picture, but he had no problem with sharing her. After all, it made him even happier to think that the two of them could produce a life together, from their love.

"Who knows, maybe this little afternoon excursion of ours will have paid off even more than we intended" Harry said with a cheeky smirk on his face.

Ginny's expression finally lifted and she chuckled at his comment. "Well, you think mighty highly of yourself, don't you?"

With his smirk still lingering, Harry said, "That I do." And she laughed at him again, this time more heartily.

He saw her eyes dance with laughter and it filled him with even more love for her.

"Gin, I love you and there is nothing that would make me happier than to have a family with you. To think that they would be the products of our love, it makes me so proud to have been able to marry such an outstanding woman."

Ginny's cheeks flushed and a warmth spread throughout her body as she laid there in Harry's arms.

---------------------------

The next couple of days, things were going as well as planned. They went out to a few muggle museums, had picnics during the day in beautiful open fields near their cottage, and spent their nights under a star filled sky, lying in each other's arms. This was, by far, the best time that Harry or Ginny had in a very long time.

One day, Ginny had gone out to pick some flowers while Harry stayed in the cottage, making lunch for the two of them. As she walked back, Ginny felt so carefree, like nothing else in the world mattered, except for her and Harry. She wished that she could feel like this every day.

She opened the door to the cottage, calling to him. "Harry, I'm back. Do you need some help in the kitchen?" When she didn't hear him respond, she called after him again, "Harry?"

He wasn't in the kitchen, Ginny noticed as she entered the room. _Where could he have gone?_ The food that he had been preparing was still sitting on the counter, unfinished.

She walked around, searching for Harry, when suddenly, she found him in the sitting room. "Hey, there you are. What are you doing in here? I thought you were making lunch?" Noticing something in his hand, she asked, "What do you have there?"

Ginny made her way towards Harry, who still hadn't answered her, hadn't even moved since she came in the room. She leaned down to where he was sitting, kissed him on the forehead and then began trying to read the letter that he was holding.

Harry quickly jumped to attention. Trying to hide the letter that she almost read, he began acting a little suspicious. "Erm…er…Hey! When did you come in? Did you get loads of flowers?"

"Yeah, I got some really beautiful ones. Er…did you not hear me calling you?"

"No. I must have been a little distracted," Harry said as he tried to keep her from asking what the letter was about. However, his attempts didn't work.

"I'll say. You were so engrossed in that letter that you didn't move until I kissed you. Who's the letter from?" Ginny asked as she tried to reach around his back and take the letter from his hand.

He jerked it away, desperately trying to keep it from her. "Oh, it's nothing. Just a letter from…Ron and Hermione saying that they hope we're having a wonderful time."

"Uh huh, like I'm going to believe that line, Harry. For one thing, I don't see Hedwig anywhere, and for another thing, if it was from Ron and Hermione, you wouldn't have tried to hide it from me. Who's it from Harry?"

When he didn't answer her, she stretched her hand out to him. "Give it to me…now."

"I told you its nothing-"

"_Now_, Harry." Ginny was getting irritated. She knew he was hiding something from her and she had a feeling it wasn't something that she was going to like.

Closing his eyes and clenching his jaw, Harry gave in and held the letter out, in front of him, for her to take it.

Ginny looked at the letter cautiously, first noticing the seal that had been broken. It was the Ministry's seal. Her jaw suddenly locked in place, preparing herself for what she was about to read. Before she could even finish reading it, she shot a furious look at Harry and almost yelled, "_I can't believe those bloody stupid gits!_ They're all arses, you know. Every single one of them!"

Harry stood there in silence with his head hung low.

"Please tell me you're not-," she observed as much of his face that she could see, "_Merlin_! You are! You're going to go, aren't you?"

"Gin, I don't really have a choice," he pleaded, finally looking at her.

With her voice steadily rising, she became even angrier. "Bloody hell, you do! You don't _have_ to go in. Just tell them you're on vacation."

"Gin…you know I can't. Besides, you read it. It sounded quite important. In fact, they said that if I didn't Apparate there within 5 minutes of receiving the letter, Mr. Burton would come here himself, to talk to me. I got the letter almost 5 minutes ago; I've just been frozen in place since I opened it, because I knew you wouldn't be happy about it." Harry moved closer to her. "I'm so sorry, Gin."

She flinched, being quite hurt that he would leave from their vacation to go back to work. "Don't 'Gin' me. I knew this was coming. It was just a gut feeling. I _knew_ they'd come calling after you and you'd go running-"

"You know good and well that I wouldn't go if it wasn't important-"

They heard a pop and turned in the direction from where it came. There, indeed, was Mr. Burton, himself. _This has to be important_, Harry thought, _for my boss to come and get me personally_.

"Ah! There you are, Potter. Come on, we need to be going immediately," said Mr. Burton as he walked towards him and making an attempt to usher him out.

"Hang on just a moment, Mr. Burton," Ginny chimed in before Harry could say a word. "Harry might not be forward enough to ask you what's so important the he has to leave his vacation to handle, but I am. What exactly is it that no one else can handle?" She had her hands on her hips now, with a scowl on her face.

Harry dropped his head, wishing that Ginny hadn't overreacted like she just did.

Mr. Burton, reluctant to say anything at first, finally spoke. "Fine, Mrs. Potter. I'm sure you'd find out sometime soon anyway, with particular members of your family working at the Ministry." Looking at them both, Mr. Burton continued, "It's Draco Malfoy."

A look of bewilderment came over both Harry and Ginny. Harry spoke first, "I thought that Malfoy was no longer a concern of ours? What's changed?"

Indeed, Malfoy had not been seen or heard of since Harry's sixth year at Hogwarts. Even after Harry defeated Voldemort two years ago, there was still no sign of him anywhere.

"He's been spotted in London, recently," said Mr. Burton.

"But," Ginny started, "why, if it _is_ him, would he show his face in London of all places He should know that he would be easily recognized there."

"We honestly don't know what reasoning there was behind him showing up all of a sudden, but we've received word recently that he's been causing big problems in America and now, he's gathered a rather large group of followers, as well." Looking at Harry, he went on, "we know that you'll be our best choice to handle this case. We're going to be sending Shacklebolt with you."

Ginny collapsed into the chair that she was standing in front of. She suddenly felt very ill. _Why does this always have to happen right when we get a moment's peace?_ she thought.

"I understand, sir. Erm…do you mind if I have a minute with my wife?" Harry said as he glanced over at Ginny. He knew that she was still upset about all of this, but he didn't want to leave it like that.

Contemplating his decision, he nodded slightly, "Yes, that's fine. Just make it quick, Potter. We need to move on this, post haste."

"Yes, sir. I'll be just behind you."

With another pop, Mr. Burton Apparated from the cottage and Harry turned back to face Ginny.

"Gin," he said tentatively, "you know that I wouldn't go if this wasn't really important. I'm so sorry. I don't want to leave you, you know that; but with Malfoy out there, there's no telling what kind of havoc he'll wreak."

Ginny swallowed hard. She really was feeling sick. All of this had hit her like a thousand bricks, and she didn't like the taste it was leaving in her mouth. "Harry, I'm just so tired. It never ends; it never will, will it? They will always be there to interrupt us somehow, someway. And you'll always go."

"No, I won't always go. I…" he paused briefly before continuing, "…this is different."

With a surrendering sigh, she barely spoke, "How is this any different?"

"This is Malfoy. You know what he almost did. You know he came close to killing Dumbledore. With him back, I don't want to take any risks of him trying to mess up our lives."

She didn't want to hear anymore and she started to turn away, but he stopped her before she could really move.

"Why does a man do it? He does what he must. I have to go Gin, if for nothing else than to make sure that you are safe. You know how much Malfoy hates me and I don't want him getting anywhere near you. He'll attack me in any way that he can. And in all honesty, you are my biggest weakness. I wouldn't be able to live with myself if something happened to you."

Ginny started crying. She still hadn't said anything to him.

"Please, Gin…I don't want to leave like this. I don't want to go with us still arguing and upset," said Harry, his voice desperately pleading with her. He reached up, wiping away some of her tears.

She warily lifted her head, looking back at Harry. "I just wanted us to finally be able to spend some time together, without interruptions."

"I promise, as soon as I take care of Malfoy, we'll finish our vacation."

She shook her head as she felt another tear fall. "Harry…," she wept and wrapped her arms around his neck.

Harry couldn't feel any worse for leaving her, but he was determined that Malfoy would not become a threat to their lives.

"I know, Gin. I know." He kissed her lips gently. Feeling his emotion overcome him, he felt a tear roll slowly down his cheek and he breathed despairingly.

"Let me take you home, before I head to the Ministry."

"No, you go on, I'll be fine."

"But, I don't want to leave you right this second. You don't look well. Just let me take you home so that I'll know that you are ok." Harry was concerned about her. Since she'd found out about him having to leave, she'd turned very pale and gaunt. He hated seeing her worry about him, and he knew that was exactly what was going through her head.

"Alright, but we'd better hurry. You need to get to the Ministry," Ginny said as she tried standing up. However, she became dreadfully lightheaded and too weak to continue standing.

As she started to fall, Harry reached out, catching her. He was now very worried about her, as he tried to sit her in the chair. "Gin! Are you alright?"

"Yeah...I'm just…I just got a little dizzy." Her voice sounded terribly weak. She wondered what had brought this on. Yes, she was worried about Harry going off to fight Malfoy. She was upset with him for leaving in the middle of their vacation, but she didn't think that it warranted the dizziness or weak feeling that had suddenly come over her.

"Let's get you home, now."

"What about our things?" Ginny asked as Harry tried to pull her away.

"I'll ask Hermione and Ron to come back and get our things. I don't want you worrying about any of it, especially with you feeling the way that you do now."

Harry swept her off her feet, cradling her in his arms.

"Harry, there's no need for you to carry me. I'm fine. I can walk on my own," Ginny kept insisting.

"Would you just let me take care of you? I'm going to be gone for who knows how long. So, I want to be able to take care of you for as long as I can."

Harry walked out the door of the cottage, carrying Ginny and then Apparated back to their flat. As he opened the door, he was relieved to find that Ron and Hermione were not there. He honestly didn't want them hounding her right now. Plus, he didn't have the time to sit and have a lengthy conversation about everything that had just happened.

He carefully laid Ginny on the sofa, placing a pillow behind her head. "You stay here, ok? I don't want you moving to do anything. I'm going to pop over to Ron and Hermione's flat and ask Ron to go get our things while Hermione comes over to make some nice soup for you. How's that sound?" said Harry as he pulled a blanket over her.

"Harry, you act as if I have a cold or something. I'm telling you, I'm ok. I just got a little dizzy, that's all."

"Well, I don't know what needs to be done when you get dizzy, other than rest. So…rest! Ok, I'm going to their flat now and then from there I'll head to the Ministry." He was talking hurriedly and running about the place doing things, but he slowed down when a thought finally crept into his head.

_I'm about to leave my wife and I don't know how long it's going to be until I see her again._

Harry stopped everything that he was doing and sat down on the sofa next to Ginny. He leaned over, kissing her on the forehead, then on the tip of her nose. He continued to trace a trail of kisses all over her face, until he finally met her lips. This kiss was different. He could feel the hesitance of both of them to let go, their longing to stay by each other's side yet at the same time, he also felt how weak she was and a tear rolled down his cheek, touching hers as well.

As they broke apart, Ginny looked into his emerald eyes. "Harry…don't worry about me, alright? I'll be fine, I promise. You just need to concentrate on getting Malfoy and then coming back home to me."

She sighed deeply "I'm sorry that I got so upset about Mr. Burton coming to get you. All I wanted was to spend a little time with you. It's been too few and far between and I didn't want us to fall apart."

"Ginny, there is no way that we would ever fall apart. I love you, and I'm certainly going to spend the rest of my life doing just that. Plus, weren't we just talking about starting a family? That's number two on my list, right behind you." Harry smiled demurely and kissed her one last time before getting up to leave.

"Ok…I'm off to Ron and Hermione's flat. Is there anything else that I can get you before I go?"

"No, I'm ok."

Harry walked towards the door, opening it slowly, when he heard Ginny.

"Harry…" she said, seeing him turn in response. "I love you."

"I love you too," he said, smiling sadly. "I'll see you soon, my love"

And without warning, he was gone.

-------------------------

_A Week and A Half Later_

"Have you heard from him lately?" asked Hermione, as she and Ginny walked down Diagon Alley.

"No. Not since a few days ago. He sent an owl saying that they were getting close to Malfoy and that he might not get a chance to write back for a while, depending on their progress."

Ginny was getting a little tired of just killing time in Diagon Alley. The only reason she needed to come was to get a new cauldron, but she and Hermione decided to make an afternoon of it and do a little shopping.

"Hermione, I'm getting a bit tired. I think I'm going to go back to the flat." Ginny said resigning in her efforts.

"Are you still under the weather from last week?"

Ginny simply nodded. She didn't want to elaborate on it in the middle of Diagon Alley. "Listen, why don't you come back with me? I need to talk to you in private."

"Yeah, sure," said Hermione and a moment later, they Apparated to Harry and Ginny's flat.

Ginny and Hermione sat their bags down in the hallway and walked into the sitting room to rest.

"Does Harry still know that you're still not feeling very well?"

"No. I haven't mentioned anything in my letters. Besides, I know why I'm not feeling well; I just don't like the idea of telling Harry in a letter. I think this needs to be said in person."

"Well, what is it? What's the matter?" Hermione didn't understand why she hadn't said anything before about still being ill. _Why does she need to see Harry in person about it?_

"With Harry being gone right now, I'm not sure this is the best time for this to happen, but…what can you do about it? It's not like I can control it."

"For heaven's sake, Ginny spit it out!" Hermione was getting irritated; she wanted to know what was going on.

Ginny stuttered, trying to make the words come out. "It's just that…I'm…"

"Oh my MERLIN! You're not…you can't be…," Hermione was going mental.

Ginny thought she might catch on quickly but she never expected her to react this way. She had a look of panic across her face. _This isn't right_, Ginny thought.

"I'll _KILL_ Malfoy myself. He's put some kind of curse on you and it's killing you, hasn't he! I knew that bloody git would find some way to penetrate through to Harry's weakness. I tried to tell myself…," Hermione started to go off on a tangent now. Ginny thought she quite liked talking to herself sometimes; _at least she gets an intelligent conversation that way._

"…I just had this gut feeling…I mean he hates Harry so much…he couldn't have enough heart to not stoop so low…," Hermione continued.

"Hermione… _Hermione_…" Ginny kept trying to stop her before she went too far off the deep end. _I think she's alreadythere_. "HERMIONE…I'm not cursed…I'M PREGNANT!"

"…that low down dirty-," she stopped in mid sentence. With a dumbfounded look, she stared at Ginny as if she didn't understand the words that had just come out of her mouth. "You're…you're … _w-what_?"

She cursed herself for shouting that out loud; Hermione wouldn't shut up otherwise.Breathing deeply, Ginny uttered those same words again, "I'm pregnant."

Hermione was still having a hard time believing what she had just heard. "How come you didn't tell me sooner? _How come you haven't told Harry yet_?"

"This is exactly one of the reasons why I haven't said anything before now. I knew you would freak out. Plus, I didn't want to say anything until I knew for sure. I had a doctor's appointment a few days ago and it was confirmed. Besides, I've already told you, I don't want to tell Harry in a letter; I want to tell him face to face. And, I really wanted him to know before anyone else found out, so that means I don't want _any_ peeps out of you. Do you understand?"

"Of course, Ginny; you know I wouldn't tell anyone if you didn't want me to. But you don't need to put off telling Harry for long; he should know soon."

"Well, I'm hoping that this thing with Malfoy won't last very long, because I don't think I'll be able to see him until it's over with," Ginny said sadly.

"Listen," Hermione started, "why don't you come over to our flat tomorrow and have dinner with Ron and me? It'll be a little celebration-"

"Hermione, I just told you that no one else is to know about this until Harry does!"

"No…no, you've got it all wrong. It'll be a secret celebration, between the two of us, considering that I now know. But, I won't tell Ron until you say it's ok. Anyway, it's been a while since you've come over for dinner and I hate thinking about you here all by yourself."

"Ok… that sounds nice. I could use a bit more rest too."

"Yeah, you certainly do need to rest. You've got to start thinking about that baby now; and eating for two."

They both chuckled at Hermione's last statement.

Smiling for the first time since she and Harry were together, Ginny reveled in the news, "I can't believe I'm finally having a baby."

"And, I'm going to be an Aunt. This is so wonderful, Ginny. I'm going to spoil this kid so much. I'm sure Uncle Ron will enjoy doing the same."

For the rest of the afternoon, Ginny and Hermione sat chatting about the baby and other things, until Hermione had to leave.

"Alright, we'll see you tomorrow night, then. 6:30?"

"Sure, 6:30."

---------------------------

Hermione and Ron looked at the door with strange expressions when a knock came from it. Looking back at each other, Ron shrugged his shoulders.

"Maybe it's Dad. You know how he loves to play muggle tricks on us."

Walking to the door, Hermione turned back, "But why would he be here now?"

She turned the knob and opened the door to reveal Ginny, in a white summer dress.

"Hey," said Ginny.

"What are you doing knocking on the door? Why didn't you just Apparate here?" Hermione asked, stepping aside, letting Ginny come in.

"I just decided, on a whim, to take muggle transportation," she replied, but quickly dropped to a whisper, "I also heard somewhere that it wasn't good to Apparate while you're _pregnant_."

Shutting the door Hermione caught Ginny by the arm and whispered back. "That's just a myth Ginny. You just have to be extra careful, that's all."

Ron walked out of the kitchen and mocked after her, "So, you're turning into Dad are you?"

"No, I'm not turning into Dad, Ron. I just felt like enjoying a nice ride," Ginny replied and promptly stuck out her tongue at him.

Rolling her eyes at the two of them, Hermione headed back for the kitchen. "Ginny, why don't you go on and sit down? Ron, stop irritating your sister and come help me finish things in the kitchen."

"Yes, sweetie," Ron said and narrowed his eyes at Ginny. She couldn't help but laugh at how he was wrapped around Hermione's finger.

Ginny sat down at the table and twiddled her thumbs. She didn't like having nothing to do. "You sure you don't need more help in the kitchen?"

"Nope, we've got it." Ron called.

Ginny heard a tapping at the window and turned to see an owl holding a letter, waiting for someone to let him in. She got up and opened the window, taking the letter from the owl.

"Ron, an owl's come for you."

"Really?" he said meeting her at the window.

"Do you have anything for him?"

"Oh…yeah," he said as he opened the letter. "It's in the kitchen."

As Ginny went to go get a treat for the owl, Ron quickly read the letter, his face turning pale as he continued on.

"Ron…Ron, you alright?" Ginny said and he jerked the letter from her reach.

"Yeah…fine. Hermione, can I see you in the bedroom?" he said, already walking back in that direction.

"Can't this wait-"

"No, it cannot!" He yelled. This didn't sound like the beginning to one of their arguments, which confused Ginny a little.

Ginny waited for almost five minutes before Hermione came out of the room; however, Ron didn't follow.

"Where's he run to? And what was that all about?" she asked.

Hermione thought carefully before answering her question. "He…just had to pop out to get some pumpkin juice. We're all out and unless you want water, we had to get you something."

"You still didn't answer part of my question. What was the owl about?"

"Oh…erm…n-nothing." Hermione, too, looked very weak and frail all of a sudden.

"Hermione, if you don't stop lying to me, I'm going to-"

"Look…Ron will just have to tell you about it when he comes back. He didn't tell me very much," snapped Hermione.

"Sorry, I just wanted to know. He seemed pretty panicked about whatever was in the letter."

They sat together in silence for a few minutes. Hermione and Ginny rarely got into any rows, but when they did, it was hard to talk after.

Hermione opened her mouth, almost ready to spill out everything when they both heard a pop and Ron appeared.

Jumping up, Ginny ran over to him. "Ron, I want you to tell me what all this is about!"

He barely paid any attention to Ginny's demands, but simply looked at Hermione. With a sharp intake of breath, he clenched his jaw while tears welled up in his eyes, begging to spill out. All he could do was nod at Hermione and he saw her falter slightly.

Ginny was still looking back and forth between the two of them, attempting to decode their silent looks. "_Would somebody tell me what the bloody hell is going on? Now_!"

"Come with us Ginny," Ron said taking her by one arm and Hermione taking her by the other.

Hermione leaned over quickly, whispering, "Remember, just be careful. Think about apparating for two."

Ginny gave her a confused look and they quickly left the flat. When they arrived wherever it was that Hermione and Ron had taken her, she had to catch her balance. Admittedly, that trip made her a bit woozy.

"Wuh," Ginny garbled incoherently as she looked up at a building that she was now standing in front of. "W-what are we doing at St. Mungo's?"

The two beside her ignored her question, trying to avoid telling her anything at the moment.

"I'm going to go speak to someone at the front desk. I'll be right back," Ron said to Hermione, completely ignoring the fact that Ginny was standing there too.

"Hermione…what's going on? Please…please tell me" Ginny's voice was desperately pleading. She didn't want to form any thoughts in her head, but instinctively tears started to glaze over her eyes.

Hermione fought back her own tears as she shook her head, refusing to say anything.

Agitated that her sister-in-law would not budge, Ginny observed Ron as he spoke to a woman at the front desk. She saw her shake her head and then say something to him. She was able to see the words on his lips as he said 'thank you' and then glowered at him as he approached.

"What was that all about?" she asked.

"Let's just sit down over here for a minute-," Ron started to say, but was promptly interrupted by Ginny.

"Damn it! No! I will not sit down; I will not wait another blasted minute for one of you to tell me what the hell is going on. _Somebody_ had better start talking _now_." She was absolutely furious, but the unexpected tears started to become heavier.

"OK...ok. I wanted to wait a little while before saying anything, but knowing you…you won't _shut it_ until you find out." Ron stopped, preparing himself for whatever reaction might come from his sister. "When I left the flat earlier, I went to the Ministry to talk to Dad. He sent the owl. He told me that they had just received some…news…about-," he was saying when several people came bursting through the front doors of the hospital.

Two men were carrying another in; others that were yelling out things in hopes of helping surrounded them. Right after they came in, several reporters tried to follow but were forced out by wizard security.

The three of them had swung around, watching the horde of people at the entrance. Ginny's eyes tried to focus on what was going on and whom they were bringing in, but Ron and Hermione didn't bother; they knew what it was all about.

"Who do you think they're bringing in? Whoever it is they look pretty…" Ginny couldn't say anything else as she heard one of the nurses next to the injured man speak.

"Mr. Potter? Can you hear me?" the nurse asked loudly.

Ginny froze as she waited to see if a response would come, but nothing did.

"Harry?" Ginny's body had suddenly lost all ability to function. Her heart stopped, she couldn't breathe, couldn't move, couldn't think. _Please, no. Not Harry…please not Harry_. But how many other Potters were there in the wizarding world?

The tears, that had been waiting with bated breath to flow, now were. Regaining her will, Ginny stammered over her words. "Harry…can't be…not him."

She turned around to Ron and Hermione, the question clearly seen in her eyes and all Ron could say was, "I'm sorry."

Returning her gaze back to his body, she called his name. "Harry…_Harry…HARRY_!" she was now screaming as she ran, with full force, down the hallway towards him.

When she reached the crowd, someone pushed her back. "Ma'am, we'll have to ask you to stay away, I'm afraid we can't allow any visitors, at least at this moment."

"_You bloody well can and will! I'm his wife_!" Ginny said pushing him right back.

When she was finally able to reach Harry, she almost passed out. He had several bloody gashes all over his body, the color in his cheeks were gone and his eyes were closed; were it not for the heartbeat that she felt, as she placed her hand on his chest, she would have thought him dead.

She grabbed his hand, in hers and kissed it gently. "Harry, my love, it's Gin…I'm here."

She stuck to Harry's side as the nurses moved him into a room. Ron and Hermione followed, but waited outside, giving Ginny some time alone with him. Not long after reaching the room, however, several Healers entered.

"Mrs. Potter, I'm afraid we'll have to ask you to leave the room," one nurse said, as she approached Ginny, trying to escort her out.

"I've already told you, I'm not leaving his side." Ginny had a blazen look in her eyes, one of fierce determination.

"Ma'am, the healers can't help him with you in here. If you want him to get better, you'll have to wait outside until they've finished."

Ginny kept trying to fight her, but she knew that the nurse was right; she had to leave the room so that they could focus on exactly what needed to be done.

Hermione and Ron stood up as Ginny walked out with her head bowed low.

"Did they say anything?" Hermione asked.

"No, the Healers just came in to see what can and needs to be done for him." She walked over towards Hermione. "I don't know how much of this I can take."

Hermione hugged her tightly. "You don't need to get stressed out, ok? It's not going to be good for your…health," she said, stopping herself from saying 'baby'.

Ginny stepped back, nodding with tear-filled eyes, as Ron approached her. They had never been ones to have much physical contact, other than hitting each other, but this made things different. They all had something to lose.

Ron wrapped his long arms around his sister and he felt her walls begin to crumble.

"I don't know what I'm going to do if I lose him," she said with a trembling voice; her resolve was now completely broken as she wailed into his chest. She'd let everything go. Her defenses no longer existed.

"It's going to be ok Ginny. The Healers are here now; they'll take care of him." Ron was desperately trying to be reassuring, but he had too many doubts.

Ron held her as they moved to sit down. She was still crying, almost like she couldn't stop.

"I don't even know what happened… or how. I hate being left in the dark," she breathed through cries. "Did Dad tell you anything?" she said, looking to Ron for an answer.

Swallowing hard, he steadied his voice. "It was Malfoy. From what Dad told me, they caught up with him in Hogsmeade. Apparently, he and his followers had been planning on attacking Hogwarts."

"I don't understand…they know there are hundreds of spells and enchantments on the castle. Nothing can penetrate that," Hermione spoke up from the other side of Ginny.

"He knew he wouldn't be able to do anything, but he knew that even though Harry was smart enough to know that, it would still drag him out, right where he wanted him, and it did.

"Somehow he and Shacklebolt got separated. After that, it was just a matter of catching Harry on an off moment. A couple of Malfoy's followers blind sighted him and after that things, for the most part, went Malfoy's way."

"What do you mean _for the most part_ things went his way?" asked Ginny, "and why weren't their other Aurors there? The last letter I got from Harry said that Mr. Burton was sending a small group of other Aurors to join their efforts."

"Well, Mr. Burton did send a team to meet Harry and Shacklebolt, but it turns out that Malfoy made his move before they could get there. After they captured Harry, they dragged him off to a secluded area where none of them could be seen. Dad said that he was pretty sure that Malfoy would have used the killing curse on him had he not been so high and mighty about…causing Harry so much pain.

"He used a curse that I've never heard of before, but apparently it keeps your wounds from healing on their own, making him continually bleed, which is probably why he almost looked dead when he was brought in here."

"What do you suppose Malfoy did to him? I mean, you saw him, he had deep cuts all over his body." None of this was helping Ginny feel any better but she had to know what happened.

"_Sectumsempra_! That bloody stupid spell that Harry found in Snape's old Potions book in our sixth year; it had to have been that. It matches Harry's description from what happened to Malfoy when he used the spell," Hermione snapped.

"Apparently Malfoy bloodied him up pretty good, but what he didn't realize was that the Imobulus spell that he had used on Harry was wearing off, allowing him to get to his wand.

"So, Malfoy kept spewing about how much better than Harry he was and continually talking it up that when Harry was finally free, he hit him with spell, knocking him unconscious. By this time, the other Aurors had managed to comb the area and find Harry, just in time to bring him here-," Ron had been saying before he was interrupted by one of the Healers that had just come from Harry's room.

"Mrs. Potter, can I speak with you alone?" said the Healer.

Ron simply squeezed Ginny's hand, letting her know that he would be right there with her, if she wanted him.

She stood up and took a deep breath. "Anything that you have to say to me can be said in their presence too."

Nodding, the healer continued. "I'm Bill Nott, the Head Healer working with Mr. Potter. The other Healers are still in the room using a few more spells on him, but I wanted to come out here and speak with you before you went back into the room. You might want to sit down, Mrs. Potter."

"I'm fine," said Ginny, not liking the direction that this conversation was going. "Just please tell me, is my husband going to be alright?" She squeezed both Ron and Hermione's hand as they stood next to her.

"Mr. Potter's injuries are very extensive. So extensive, in fact, that we were unable to heal many of them. Normally, we wouldn't have any problems with a healing of this magnitude, but a curse seems to have been placed on him that has kept his wounds open. Apparently, it also intensifies the injuries as time progresses. Right now, we don't know of any counter-curses that will help him.

"We're going to have a nurse come in every hour to make sure that his wounds remain clean… however, there is nothing else that we can do for him other than to make sure that he is in as little pain as possible… I'm afraid that he doesn't have long."

She was now breathing hard, barely capable of stopping her heart from jumping out of her chest. "So… how long… are we talking about Mr. Nott?" Ginny was hardly able to form coherent thoughts in her head, much less saying them aloud.

"We aren't certain. One, maybe two days at most."

Ginny stood there as if she couldn't understand anything that was coming out of his mouth. Everything he said was garbled. _He just said that I was going to lose Harry, didn't he_? Ginny thought. _He just said_… Ginny burst into uncontrollable tears; tears, that from this moment, would never stop flowing.

Ron grabbed her before she could lose her balance and wrapped his arms around her again, holding her firmly against him. He rocked her steadily. "Shh…shh…I'm here, Ginny. I'm here." Who knew that Ron could be so understanding when the time called for it?

Through her tears, she stopped crying long enough to ask the Healer, "Can I go in and see him now?"

"Yes, you all can. But we recommend that he doesn't have many visitors at any one time. He needs his rest. Right now, he's probably still unconscious, which is expected, so be prepared for that. We're not sure if he'll wake before he…you just need to prepare yourselves now. I'm sorry," the Healer said.

"Thank you, Mr. Nott." Hermione expressed just before he walked away.

Ginny walked away from the two of them, leaving a hole in the middle as they stared after her. When she entered the room, two nurses were finishing up his bandages and then turned to leave as they saw her walk in.

She nearly lost her will as she saw Harry lying there. Nearing the bed, she noticed that he was still unconscious, as Mr. Nott said he might be. Her heart broke as she stood there looking at him. He was even paler than when he had come in. She reached up to brush his hair back, since it was completely disheveled and she leaned down to kiss him sincerely.

"Hello my darling," she whispered into his ear.

Ginny quietly pulled a chair up next to his bed and sat there, holding his hand. She wouldn't be leaving his side, for fear of missing any last chance that she had to see him alive.

She looked up as a small knock came from the door. It was Ron and Hermione.

"Do you mind if we come in?" Hermione whispered.

Ginny tried to smile, but hardly managed. "No, come on in."

They walked over to the bed and she heard Hermione gasp as she saw Harry for the first time. _What they must be going through. They've been best friends with him since their first year,_ Ginny thought.

"Hiya, Harry, mate. Come on…you can fight this…you're strong," Ron said just before his tears began to spill out.

Hermione squeezed his hand as he walked away and she moved closer to Harry. She placed a small kiss on his forehead and Ginny could barely make out the words as she whispered, "Please stay with us, Harry. Ginny's got some big news for you."

Ginny instinctively reached for her tummy, realizing that she'd almost forgotten; Harry still didn't know that he was going to be a father. She decided that the very moment he woke up, he would know straightaway. _He has to know before he…he…_

"Why did I let him leave that cottage? Why didn't I stop him? Why didn't I go _with_ him?" Ginny asked.

Hermione looked at her, begging her not to blame herself for what had happened. "Ginny, there's no way that you could have stopped this from happening. You knew he'd go anyway, whether it had been while you two were on vacation or not. And, you certainly _couldn't_ have gone with him, for more than one reason."

Ginny nodded and raised Harry's hand to her lips to kiss it again.

It was quiet for a while. Ron stood on the opposite side of the room. Ginny knew it pained him to see Harry like this because he'd always been there to help. Now, there was nothing that he could do; he had to sit by and watch Harry lose his strength, lose his life.

Hermione paced back and forth across the room. She was desperately racking her brain to see if she might be able to come up with some kind of counter-curse that would help Harry.

Ginny simply sat there by his bed looking at her hand in his. She rubbed her thumb over his hand. She had been doing that now for the past half hour.

It startled them all when they heard a moan come from Harry's bed and Ginny watched as he groggily opened his eyes. "Harry? Love? He's awake," she proclaimed.

She spoke softly as Ron and Hermione rushed over to his bed, "Harry…I love you so much." She reached up and caressed his face, watching him sigh deeply, reveling in her touch. She smiled lovingly, almost laughing for the first time in a while. _Harry Potter, you will never change_, she thought.

Quickly realizing that Ron and Hermione were standing there too, she spoke again. "Harry, Ron and Hermione are here."

He looked over to see the two of them beaming at him through tears. Harry tried to speak, but no words would come out. He struggled a little and Ginny stopped him.

"Don't force yourself Harry. You need to rest."

He smiled sweetly at her and closed his eyes again.

Ginny drew a quick breath as she saw him drift away. "Oh, Merlin…not now, please not now."

Hermione reached to check his pulse and said, "He's still alive. He just passed out."

Ginny and Ron gave her a very odd and confused look. "What? It's a muggle thing. You can feel the blood pumping in him. But Harry's pulse is very weak.

"Look, Ron and I are going to go down to the dining hall and grab something to eat. Do you want us to bring you back anything?" she asked Ginny.

"No, I'm not hungry."

"Ginny, your strength," Hermione reminded her.

Touching her tummy again, she said, "Right. Erm…milk and some kind of fruit; it doesn't matter what."

"Ok…we'll be back shortly," she said and they left the room.

-----------------------------

Ginny was dreaming; they were sweet dreams, ones that made her happy again. Harry was with her, she'd given birth to a beautiful baby boy. Harry was holding him, so afraid that he might break him. Then she heard him say something, "Harry Sirius Potter. I love you…my son."

He walked over to where Ginny was still lying in the hospital bed and she felt him run his fingers through her hair, but then things went dark and suddenly she was waking up.

As she came to her senses, she almost jumped out of her chair as she felt something touching her head. Ginny rubbed her eyes trying to focus on what it was that had startled her so. It was Harry; he was awake again.

"Hey Gin," he said roughly.

"Harry…? Oh Merlin, Harry." She kissed him feverishly, smiling like a fool at the fact that he was awake. "I love you so unbelievably much."

He smiled weakly, "I love you too, Gin-"

"-I'm sorry, Harry. Wait just a moment more, please. I have to tell you something before…I just have to tell you something and it can't wait any longer, so listen carefully, ok?"

He nodded for her to continue.

"I've wanted to tell you this for a good bit of time, but I didn't want to put it in a letter. I had to tell you face to face.

"Harry…I'm…," Ginny picked up his hand and placed it on her tummy, "…I'm pregnant. You're going to be a father," she said, beaming from ear to ear, happy to finally be able to tell him.

He looked at her like he couldn't believe it at first. His eyes went from her face to where his hand was on her stomach and back again, and then she saw a wide grin spread across his face. "I'm…" he said struggling for a good breath, "…I'm going to be …a father? …I'm going to be a daddy!"

She leaned down to kiss him and he pulled her in to a passionate kiss. She didn't expect him to have this much strength in his condition. In actuality, he didn't because after they broke apart, it left him quite drained.

"Harry, you need to take it easy…alright?" Ginny said in a sweet, but warning tone.

Dismissing her orders, he continued, "Gin, I love you so much. As if I didn't have everything I wanted in you, you've made me even happier by making…" he gasped for air, "…me a father."

She smiled at him, trying to remain positive and not let him see her falter.

As he watched her eyes, reality hit him and his grin faded away. "Oh Merlin…Gin…I'm so …so sorry."

"What's there to be sorry about? This is a happy time. We're having a baby…" Ginny said, trying to shake off this turn.

His eyes grew sad. "No, Gin. Don't try to push it away. I'm so sorry…that I won't be there to raise our child with you."

"Of course you'll be here, Harry. You're just talking crazy," Ginny said with a wavering smile and tear-filled eyes.

"Stop, Gin. You know as well as I do that …I don't have much time left. No-," he said, halting her from interrupting him.

"…listen to me. I want you to know that I love you …and this baby more than my own life. It won't matter if I'm here in body or not, but I will love you always and forever, and I want you to remember that. You'll be a terrific mother and this baby will be loved until the end of all time."

Ginny had been crying as he talked to her. "Harry…I can't lose you; I won't. I want you to stay here with us. …Please, don't leave me."

"Gin, I'll always be here with you and the baby." He swallowed and breathed heavily, "Sirius told me that the ones that love us never really leave us. He said that you will always find them here," Harry said, placing his hand over Ginny's heart, "and I believe him. Not only will you have me in here, but you'll always have a piece of me, in our baby." His lips quivered while tears streamed down his cheeks.

Ginny was so tired of being sad, so tired of crying, that she wanted to lift his spirits. She didn't want him to be like this before he…

She smiled again, regaining her strength for his sake, "Do you know what I want to name our baby?" When he shook his head, she continued, "If it's a boy, I want to name him Harry Sirius Potter. If it's a girl, I want to name her Lily Ginevra Potter."

Harry chuckled a little, "Ginevra?"

Happy to see a smile on his face again, she pursed her lips at him. "Yes, I know I'm not fond of my first name, but I want him or her to have a part of one of our names. So, I've decided, it's not so bad. Besides, Lily Molly…? It's just too much."

They both laughed and enjoyed the moment. In her mind, Ginny was slowly coming to terms with the fact that she'd soon have to let Harry go. She desperately wanted him to know how much he meant to her.

"Harry…I have to make sure that you know how much I love you."

"I know Gin. You don't have to say anything-," Harry said.

"Yes I do. All my life, I've only ever loved you, since the first day I met you at the train station. When we finally got together in my fifth year…and then you had to leave to face…but it was like new, when you came back…and then you asked me to be your wife…I wanted…oh, my words are just getting in the way of how I feel."

"I know how you feel Gin, because I feel the same way. Promise me one thing?"

"Anything."

"I want you tell our baby, every day, how much I love him, or her. And I want you to always remember that even though I'm not with you, I love you with every ounce of my soul."

Ginny drew a choked breath, "I will Harry, every day, I promise.

"Why don't you rest now? I think we've over exerted you a bit." She started to sit back down in the chair, but he called her to lie on the bed with him.

Resting on her side, she propped herself up on her elbow. Stroking his hair and caressing his face, she began to sing softly.

"_Godspeed your soul's return, Deep from these waters  
Straight to the angels arms, Beyond the sea _

How sweet the days gone by, How sharp the corners  
How blue the canvas sky, That set you free

And oh somehow I know we're not apart  
For I still hold your love inside my heart

How soft this light of grace, Shines through my sorrow  
From some amazing place, You reach for me…"

Ginny rarely sang, but Harry loved it when she did. She watched him slowly close his eyes and smiled sadly at him. There was a gnawing feeling in the pit of her stomach and she tried to check his arm, like Hermione had. That didn't work; she didn't know how to do that. She, then, leaned her head down to his chest to see if she could hear his heart. She listened, but no sound came. She shook her head and leaned down again, listening with the other ear. Still, she heard nothing and then…she couldn't breathe.

_NO!_, the voice inside her head screamed. Outwardly, she screamed even louder, "**_NURSE!_**"

A nurse came barreling through the door within a few moments and Ginny spoke to her, "I think he's…he's..." She couldn't say it.

The nurse checked Harry to see if he was still breathing. She stopped and slowly began to stand up straight, with her head still bowed.

"What are you doing?" Ginny asked. "Why did you stop checking?"

The nurse finally looked up and shook her head, "I'm sorry ma'am. He's gone."

"_NO! You're wrong; he can't be gone. He's not!_" Ginny said, rushing back to his side. Gently slapping him on the cheek a few times, Ginny tried anything she could. "Come on, baby. Come on; you can't be gone, you can't."

"Mrs. Potter…" the nurse called, but Ginny wasn't paying attention. "Mrs. Potter…he's gone," she said slowly, touching Ginny's arm.

Ginny leaned over, brushing his hair away from his forehead and kissing him one last time. In the distance she heard the nurse speak, "Honey, do you need me to get you anything?"

Ginny stood up straight and shook her head as she backed away from the bed slowly. She moved towards the door and looked back before leaving the room. "I promise," she uttered one last time, and closed the door behind her.

As she came out, she noticed that all of her family was now there. When Ron and Hermione approached her, they didn't ask any questions; one look at Ginny's face was enough to explain everything.

She stood there for a moment, not saying a word. Then, with a broken voice, she said, "He's gone," as she fell to the floor in tears. Her cries were of such magnitude that it could be heard all the way down the long corridor.

Mrs. Weasley rushed to her daughter's side, whispering to her, "My poor, sweet baby girl."

And they all wept together, for Harry was a far bigger loss than anyone could ever fathom.

------------------------

She stood there in her black robes, as the rain fell on her. She'd given up on the muggle contraption that Hermione had suggested on using. She couldn't even pronounce it right; much less manage to use it. Umbrellas were such fickle things. Besides, she could care less about whether she remained dry or not. It was the furthest from her mind.

Several hundred people showed up at Harry's funeral, too many for Ginny to bother worrying with. Many of them came up to her, giving their condolences but she couldn't make out any words that they said. Everything, that day, had been muffled and blurry to her; for the past day, even, she had been walking about in a daze.

Ginny felt her mum and dad hug her warmly, in hopes of giving her some kind of comfort. Bill, Charlie, Percy, Fred and George all did the same before they left. All of her family that remained with her now was Ron and Hermione.

"Let us take you home, Ginny." Hermione said with a concerned voice.

Ginny could do nothing but stare at the ground where they had buried Harry's body. He lay next to his parents; he was home with them now, but his heart and soul still remained with her.

She had cried so much that her eyes were dry and she knew that she was sure to have received scolding looks from some people, but she didn't care what they thought of her.

A voice broke her thoughts, "Ginny…did you hear me?"

Blinking her eyes a few times, she finally spoke. "Er…w-what?"

"I said why don't you let us take you home?" Hermione asked again.

"No, I think I'm just going to stay here for a while longer. I don't want to leave him yet."

"Are you sure?" Ron asked.

"Yeah, I'll be fine. You two go on home."

Hermione pleaded again, "Well, at least take this umbrella and keep yourself dry. You'll get sick if you stay out here in soaking wet clothes."

Ginny nodded and took the umbrella from Hermione just before she and Ron Disapparated.

Turning back to Harry's grave, she knelt down on the muddy ground and touched the dirt that now covered him. "You'll always be in my heart, my love. Always."

-------------------

_**Eight and A Half Months Later**_

Ginny smiled brightly as she held her beautiful little baby in her hands. The emotion that filled her was like none other that she had ever felt.

"Welcome to the world Harry Sirius Potter, my darling son. Your daddy and mummy love you very much," Ginny said as she kissed his small hand.

Her life would be different forever. Losing Harry was something that she hated more than anything, but he was right. _I hold a piece of him in my heart and in little Harry_.

"Let me tell you about your wonderful father…" Ginny began, as he would hear about his father every day for the rest of his life. No detail would be left out.

* * *

**A/N: So….off you go…please REVIEW. I'd really like loads of feedback. **

**If I have been able to stir any emotion in you, with this fic, then it makes me happier than you will ever know.**

**So, click that little box below and leave me a review, please. THANK YOU:D**


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